Basketball
Once after dinner a woman and I walked past
An empty basketball court and she says,
“I played on a team my junior year in Belfast,”
And I say “Want to shoot some?” She says “Yes,”
Though she was wearing a long black dinner dress.
She kicked off her high heels and she caught
My pass and with great finesse
Drove to the baseline, jumped and shot
Swish. Two points. We played for awhile,
Man in a black suit, woman in a long black gown,
I loved her quickness and her heads-up style,
Her cool hand as she beat me hands down —
Her jumpiness, like a blackbird in the night—
Her steady eye, her feet about to take flight.